In this study, the residue levels of chiral pesticide hexaconazole during kiwifruit juice processing (peeling, homogenization, and sterilization) were investigated by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the dietary risk during these processes was also assessed. Hexaconazole was applied at dosages of 173.33 and 346.66 mg/L (recommended and double recommended dosage) in kiwifruit. In the peeling process, 87.7% to 89.2% of the residues were decreased after peeling. Levels of hexaconazole residues in homogenization and sterilization processes further increased from 0.49% to 24.3% and from 0.2% to 3.0%, respectively. Processing factors (PFs) for (+)- and (−)-hexaconazole after peeling, homogenization, and sterilization were 0.12, 0.88, 0.99 for low-dose treatment and 0.12, 0.87, 0.99 for high-dose treatment, respectively. The enantioselectivity of hexaconazole during these procedures was evaluated by enantiomeric fractions (EFs) values, which were around 0.5 throughout all the procedures, indicating that hexaconazole enantiomers had similar dissipation behaviors during kiwifruit juice processing. The RQc of hexaconazole in pre-peeling samples was significantly greater than 100% under two dosages, while the peeling process can notably decrease the values to an acceptable level. The results of this study could provide guidance for agriculture applications and kiwi commodity production to decrease the risk of hexaconazole residue.

Hyperlipidemia is characterized by a high level of blood lipid which poses a serious threat to human health. Coix seed is a traditional crop of medicine and food homology with a wide range of pharmacological actions. To make clear the attenuation effect of coix seed against hyperlipidemia, low and high doses of coix seed extract (CSE) were orally administered to hyperlipidemia model mice developed by high-fat diet (HFD). Our results showed that CSE notably improved liver pathological injury, and oxidative stress, and declined the levels of glucose and lipid in hyperlipidemia mice. Liver metabolomics showed that lipid-related metabolites notably decreased, and pathways of glycolipid metabolism were seriously affected by CSE intervention. Moreover, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that CSE treatment notably increased the diversity of gut microbiota. Meanwhile, the microbiota with the function of regulating intestinal balance as well as relieving obesity and nervous diseases significantly enhanced while harmful flora notably decreased after CSE intervention. The results of network pharmacology and molecular docking indicated that the PPAR signaling pathway may be the core path of anti-hyperlipidemia for coix seeds. RT-qPCR further verified that the expression levels of genes from the PPAR pathway notably changed by CSE treatment with fat synthesis genes significantly decreased while lipolysis genes notably enhanced. Therefore, coix seed might be a potential candidate for the treatment of hyperlipidemia.

Background: Coix (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) is cultivated as medicine and food homologous resources containing various active components. As one of its main ingredients, coixol possesses the biological activities of fever reduction, pain relief, tumor suppression, blood glucose, and pressure decrease. However, the biosynthesis mechanism of coixol in coix is still unclear. Methods: In this study, different dosages of salicylic acid (SA) were applied to coix plants, and the contents of coixol from different parts were detected by an ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS). The biosynthesis pathway of coixol was determined by high-throughput transcriptome sequencing analysis and the genes were then verified by qRT-PCR. Results: SA treatment significantly increased plant height, root length, and fresh weight and increased the coixol contents in the root, stem, leaf, and seed. In total, eight enzyme-encoding genes were screened out as the key genes in the biosynthesis of coixol. The bioaccumulation of coixol was mainly through benzoxazinoid biosynthetic metabolic pathway (ko00402). Conclusions: These findings not only pointed the way for increasing the content of coixol in cultivation but also provided a reference for further elucidation of the gene functions involved in the bioaccumulation of coixol.